The militants, in a statement they issued yesterday, under the name, Coalition of Niger Delta Agitators, reiterated their stand on restructuring the country. They berated the Federal Government and Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, for allegedly ordering security operatives to invade the Ijaw leader’s residence in Abuja, “with the aim of assassinating him for championing restructuring and the course of Niger Delta people.”

“After extensive deliberation, we, hereby, issue an ultimatum that any oil company that fails to relocate its headquarters to the Niger Delta between now and December, 2018, should stop operation and vacate the Niger Delta region or face the consequences.

“The refusal of the president to sign the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill into law is viewed as an attempt to forcefully control the Niger Delta resources by proxy. And, we advise Mr. President to have a rethink on this issue…”

The agitators said they had fulfilled their part by maintaining total peace and cease fire in the Niger Delta since 2017, as advised by Niger Delta elders and leaders.

“We, hereby, officially announce that our ceasefire ends today (Wednesday), and we are returning to the creeks. We assure the presidency that, within just one month of our operation, the oil output will return to 200 barrels per day.

“We shall crush anything that crosses our line of operation. The actions and utterances of the presidency have taken us aback. We cannot help, but stand firm and fight with aggression for what rightly belongs to us.

“Finally, we, hereby, call on the International Oil Companies, PENGASSAN, NUPENG, as well as other individuals, that have businesses with oil companies in Niger Delta, especially in the platforms, rigs, pipelines and terminals, to withdraw their members on or before end of December, 2018, as we cannot assure the safety of anyone anymore from now on…”